My most favorite boy, Dixie’s Blackened Creole “Cooper” took his last breath on May 25, 2023. Other than one short post about it to let everyone know it happened…I haven’t really written about it. Honestly, the whole thing was (sometimes still is) a lot harder and more painful than I ever expected it to be. I had just a few weeks short of exactly 11 years with Cooper…and I treasure all the memories.
I guess I always wanted a black Labrador Retriever. I blame it on my Dad. I was five years old when Beau, the first of my two younger brothers was born. Drake also joined our family around the same time. He was an amazing little ball of jet black. I watched my Dad train Drake to heel, whistle recall and retrieve. Drake was quite the hunting partner to Dad. I just remember being in awe of how well behaved and connected to my Dad he was. That’s probably where the deep seated desire to have my own black lab someday started.
Cooper joined Ronald, Hendrix and I in 2012. Hendrix (and maybe Ronald) thought I was crazy 🤣. He was an amazing guy from the start – picked up all the good dog life skills so fast. Maybe his only fault- he was a little sensitive. When we began training and playing agility- he didn’t initially love the movement and bang of the teeter. He seemed to get used to it in time. As he grew older, he had very little love for his mom being stressed or not pleased…he was a little soft…not one bit hard headed. We did so many things together. He had agility titles…he had hunting titles…he had a working dog certificate…he had canine good citizen titles. That dog had so many letters after his name (titles) and earned so many medals and ribbons…I couldn’t keep track of them if I wanted to. None of those things mattered to me or to Cooper. It didn’t matter what we were doing…if he was doing it with me, he was all in. In 2016 (I think that’s right), I started rucking (carry a weighted pack). Cooper was an amazing rucking companion…he covered so many miles with me. On several occasions, he went 10-12 miles, and on one occasion he went 20 miles with me overnight. I will never forget that long walk in the dark with him – it stirs some strong emotions. Simple changes in his body language kept me aware of my surroundings…he definitely knew how to be an extension of my senses.
Coming up on the 1 year anniversary of saying goodbye…I felt like I wanted to do something to remember my sweet, Cooper. I’ve participated in Memorial Day rucks for many years now, and I have also participated in Carry The Load several years. This year, Ronald and I will not be able to participate in the Dallas march. However, I can put in miles anywhere. So, between April 22, 2024 and May 25, 2024 – I’ve pledged to ruck 100 miles. This is a way for me to remember and honor sacrifices made by our military, veterans and first responders…but also a way to honor Cooper and all the miles he covered with me doing this before. If you’d like to participate or donate to support Carry The Load see my CTL page.